Indonesia: Pertamina Wins Bid to Develop Up to 165 MW Geothermal in Java

State-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina has secured rights to build power plants in Gunung Lawu, East Java, amid the government’s push to speed up electricity production capacity from renewable resources.

Pertamina came in first in the open bid, ahead of the only rival, PT Star Energy Geothermal Indonesia, according to an announcement made by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s new renewable energy and energy conservation directorate general.

Pertamina is offering a low electricity rate of 10 US cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for power produced from the future geothermal plant, compared to 14 cents per kWh offered by Star Energy’s, the announcement shows.

Gunung Lawu geothermal working area, estimated to support up to 165 MW in capacity, stretches through two provinces and several regencies — Karanganyar, Sragen and Wonogiri in Central Java, as well as Ngawi and Magetan in East Java.